Location:
Pike National Forest near west edge of Lost Creek Wilderness, Teller County, Colorado
GPS Coordinates 39.18.51/105.31.82
10,000 foot elevation - DeLorme Colorado Atlas and Gazetteer, page 49 B-5

Kenosha Mountains 5 miles to the north of track location (12,300 foot peaks), and Tarryall Creek 6 miles to the south of track location (9,000 foot elevation at Tarryall Creek)

Date of Track Find: January 2001

Track Discoverer/Photographer: The informant emailed a written request for anonymity to
Bobbie Short, 1/25/04

While coyote hunting in the Pike National Forest in January of 2001,a Colorado resident discovered some huge tracks with a huge stride and followed them for approximately 1500 feet, taking several photographs. He made no claims as to the origin of the tracks, but thought the size and stride might interest me. The informant emailed me the account of the track find and photographs in early May of 2001and was reluctant to show anyone the photos, as he himself does not know what they are and was afraid of making claims that they were "bigfoot tracks." The informant is properly skeptical but interested in the possibility of a species matching the description of bigfoot living in Colorado.

The informant had driven southeast on road FR127, off Hwy 285, approximately 5 miles southeast of Kenosha Pass. He was in his 4WD vehicle and said that no other vehicles had driven up the road for at least a week, as no other vehicle tracks were evident in the snow. He said the heavy snow on the road almost prevented him from getting in and back out. He was going to the location to do some coyote hunting and noticed the huge track line and followed them for approximately 1500 feet according to his GPS as they generally headed in a southern direction and took a several photographs of the tracks, two of which turned out fairly good. He took a GPS reading 39.18.51/105.31.82 where he discovered the tracks. He measured individual track depressions, finding that they varied from 18 to 24 inches depending upon how much snow was in them. This witness also brushed away snow in several of the tracks to reveal that the bottoms of each depression were pressed deeply and flat onto the snow underneath throughout the depression core, then measured the step length, finding that most of the tracks had a distance of from 50 to 60 inches between each depression.

Photo #1

When the informant followed the tracks, he found that the step length was maintained up slope, through brush, through deeper snows, over some logs, and in slippery snow conditions. He stated that the step lengths were at least twice what he could do in the snow, and that in some locations he had trouble just getting through the snow in places where the tracks maker seemed to have no trouble at all. The informant is himself is 6 foot 2 inches in height, stating that "if someone were to fake tracks like this, they would have to use something like drywall stilts and balance poles, and even then they could not lift their feet as high as evident in the tracks, nor could they have negotiated over the logs, through slippery snow and through the brush so effectively." According to this witness, the tracks seemed to have been made while their maker was traveling, as it proceeded up a gully, walking on one side of the gully before crossing the gully and proceeding on up. Photo 2 was taken where the tracks crossed the gully. In all places the tracks seemed to follow the most logical routes of least resistance for a traveling creature. (Most animals and humans do this as a means of conservation of energy). The tracks seemed to be moving in one general direction toward the south. Tracks of hunting or feeding animals usually wander much, rather than just moving in one general direction.

Analysis of Track Photos

Reference photo: note lack of much straddle or toe-out

Photo #1 shows a line of depressions approximately 18" to 24" in length that apparently represent individual tracks in snow that had been heavily snowed on after the tracks were made. There is not much apparent straddle to the tracks, and they appear to be made by a biped. Though there is not much straddle, there is enough to distinguish what is likely a left, right, left arrangement. (Note: very little straddle and little or no toe out "angle of gait" are known sasquatch track line signatures in most documented cases. See reference photo.) Human tracks can be compared in Photo #1, as the informant's own tracks are on the left side of the photo. All known large animal species in that particular area are quadruped and leave tracks with much foot drag in a deep snow situation as seen at the site, usually apparent as two parallel lines of snow disturbance. The only other option for the tracks as photographed at the scene would be a small bounding animal such as a hare or a bobcat making each depression as it bounded from spot to spot through the deep snow. This "small animal" scenario is made unlikely as each track seems to proceed left, right, left, throughout the track line, distances are uniformly maintained, and the tracks seem to go around brushy cover in the photo rather than from cover to cover as is common with small mammals. He also stated that the tracks maintained uniformity throughout the 1500 feet that he followed them. Each depression is also much deeper than expected for a small bounding animal.

Photo #2

Photo #2 shows well the length of the steps taken by the mystery track maker in comparison to the informants own human tracks that parallel the large tracks in the photo. In this photo are three of the large depressions that proceed from the bottom left of the photo to the upper right of the photo. Crossing the center of the photo almost horizontally is a line of tracks of what appear to be a middle size quadruped, probably coyote. Also crossing the photo horizontally is a line of what look to be fresh hare tracks. These hare tracks give a good comparison to show what small bounding animal tracks would look like in the snow conditions. His own tracks appear in the left center side of the photo and also along the full right hand side of the photo. Whatever made the large tracks would have had to lift its feet very high in order to avoid leaving more discernable foot drag marks in the snow according to the informant and as evident in the photo.

Conclusion of Analysis

I know of no known animal that leaves tracks like these except for a human, and I know of no known human that leaves tracks this large or with a step this long in such varying conditions. I do not believe that a small bounding animal could leave such a uniform track line for such a long distance. Moose or other smaller ungulates would have left more evidence of foot drag, more straddle and less stride distance in any track line in such conditions. Bears leave very much straddle in any track line in such deep snow conditions and they would look more like the tracks left by the witness as seen in the photo. Because each track is only a depression that had been snowed on, no exact determination of the source of the tracks themselves can be made. However, the signatures of little straddle, extremely large stride, the size of each depression, high step indications, the uniformity of deposition in a left-right sequence, and comparisons to other known Colorado animal tracks make these tracks match that of sasquatch and no other animal or human. If sasquatch is real, and living in that area, I would definitely equate the tracks found as those of a large sasquatch with feet probably over 18 inches long.

Added Note: The area where the tracks were found has had many reported sightings of sasquatch, and the nearby "Monkey Creek" is assumed to have been named that because of historical sightings in that area. Some of the "bigfoot" sightings in the Pike National Forest and Lost Creek Wilderness have been by outdoor professionals (3 different hunting guides) and most all of the sightings have been made in daylight conditions by multiple witnesses. Other tracks like these in snow have also been reported numerous times in the past in the Pike National Forest, as would be expected if sasquatch were real and living in that area. This particular area would be a good area for winter tracking of a sasquatch to the source, as odds of finding tracks in snow there are fairly good. A helicopter or tracking relay team with communication equipment and snowmobiles might be required because of terrain and distances involved.

(The informant sent a request to Bigfoot Encounters for anonymity on 1/25/04, but is on file in the database)

Initial investigator: Keith Foster with permission
Updated by Bobbie Short January 28, 2004